On a recent episode of the Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T and Brad Gilmore spent considerable time discussing the historic Super Bowl halftime performance headlined by Bad Bunny.
Booker T did not shy away from addressing the criticism that surfaced following the show, particularly from those who questioned the NFL’s decision to feature a Spanish-speaking artist on such a major stage. He firmly pushed back against that narrative, emphasizing that Bad Bunny’s American identity should not be up for debate.
“What do you think about the controversies coming out of the halftime show, which, like I said, I thought it was a great show, but our president definitely had to step in there and make his voice heard,” Booker T said. “The way we got to look at things these days is, for us, a kid like a Bad Bunny, who’s American. I mean, he is American. And if we start thinking about people just because they’re from an island called Puerto Rico, that they’re not American, we need to fix the way we think seriously.”
Despite the language barrier, Booker made it clear that the performance connected on a different level. “I didn’t understand a lot of the words or any of them, but it was still a great show.”
Booker T also drew from personal experience, having collaborated with Bad Bunny in the past on the music video for the song titled “Booker T.” He described the global superstar as professional, punctual, and grounded. “He was one of the coolest mega stars I’ve ever met in my life. He was so down to earth,” Booker recalled. “He was so about business. He was so about being on time. Promptness was something that was very, very important to him, as well as making me feel comfortable in that situation… He’s definitely a genius as far as what he’s doing now in his field.”
Closing out the discussion, Booker compared the universal power of music to professional wrestling, noting that connection transcends language. “Music is the same way. Music is universal. If it sounds good, if it feels good, it’s good,” he explained. “I don’t care if you know what Bad Bunny song is on the radio. You may not know the name of the song, but you’re going to know it’s Bad Bunny.”
